From the field to the laboratory; cabinet work in Archaeology

The work of the Cabinet in Archaeology

One of the big questions people ask us about our cabinet work in Archaeology is, what do you do with all that material that is recovered in archaeological excavations? , to which they usually add the phrase: “something you are certain eh... right?”

To the latter, the answer is easy and gives rise to answering the former. Don't, all archaeological material is washed, invented, studied and It is deposited in the reference museum.

But what does this cabinet work in Archaeology consist of?

Cabinet work in Archaeology (or laboratory) encompasses a set of essential processes to complete the documentation of the archaeological excavation. This is because archaeological materials, when recovered in a context, allow us to chronologically date the strata and, therefore, to know the history and evolution of an archaeological site.

We must bear in mind that on average for every two field days we will need at least one laboratory day, something of vital importance for the organization of teams and workspaces.

The first step is taken during field work, and consists of correctly separating the materials, first by units Stratigraphic (THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT POINT) and by type of material (ceramics, fauna, metal, glass, etc.). This guarantees better preservation of the materials when they are transferred to the laboratory, and facilitates their identification.

What is the bagging process

First of all, Materials from different stratigraphic units are not mixed. The materials are separated and bagged in clear polypropylene bags. For greater control, we write on the permanent bag the stratigraphic unit, the day, the type of material and the bag number. These same data are written on a label that will go along with the bagged material.

We must bear in mind that the moisture from the extracted pieces will condense in the bags, so it is advisable to keep them open while we are in the field and puncture them when we are going to close them. Important, be careful with the knot that is tied, because then opening them in the laboratory becomes an Odyssey.

Once we have the archaeological material in the laboratory, a long process begins that will end with the deposit in the museum.

Cleaning Of the materials Archaeological

This work must be adapted to the type of material and the degree of conservation. Cleaning consists of removing dirt accumulated on the parts, and can be physical, mechanical or chemical, although it is true that the latter must be carried out only under the direct supervision of a Restorer.

Physical and mechanical cleaning are complementary, since the first consists of removing dirt by dissolving it, using tridistilled water, ethyl alcohol, acetone, etc. It is usually accompanied by mechanical cleaning to remove hard concretions, using scalpels, brushes, toothpicks, etc. This cleaning must be done with the utmost care not to scratch the piece or remove existing pigments.

It's Very Weighty take into account the state of conservation and the type of material with which we work, since, if the ceramic pieces are very fragile or cooked very poorly, we can lead to the disintegration of the pieces.

In the case of animal and bone remains, cleaning is carried out dry, with a little humidity and taking care not to damage/scratch the remains. With metal, the cleaning will be adapted to the state of conservation, and it is most convenient to carry out a Restorer, and if you don't have one, stick to a minimum of “stabilization” by removing surface dirt mechanically and bagging it together with a pack of silica gel that absorbs excess moisture.

Returning to ceramics and stone, once the dirt has been removed, we must dry the archaeological material properly. For this purpose, it is extended by separating and carefully separating Don't mix stratigraphic units, in a ventilated area and avoiding direct sun. After drying, the pieces will be collected and we will move on to the next point, the Signed.

Signature of archaeological materials

This is one of the key points in cabinet or laboratory work, since this is where an identification number is assigned to each piece, so first of all, we proceed to separate the selected pieces (edges, handles, fairings, painted ceramics, graphites, bases, etc.) from the unselected ones (galbos). Once the material has been separated, we will orient the piece and apply a small layer of lacquer/paraloid to the bottom, avoiding as much as possible lacquering on decorations, graffiti, etc. The next step will be to write the acronym number, which includes a code provided by the reference museum (Ex: AA/2022/256...) to which we will add the stratigraphic unit in which the piece was recovered (Ex: AA/2022/256/01/...), and the inventory number (Ex: AA/2022/256/01/01), This, the piece will be lacquered again, that the acronym number remains preserved.

We use lacquer/paraloid to avoid writing directly on the pieces, since when applying acetone this layer is easily removed and does not leave any marks on the piece.

Reassembly and gluing of parts

Occasionally we can reassemble some pieces. This point is a source of controversy between archaeologists and restorers, since not everything goes back and forth. Appropriate materials (paraloid) must be used to disassemble the piece if necessary.

The reality is that, by gluing pieces together, we are able to reconstruct them volumetrically, which allows us to Know the profile and type of the containers found, thus facilitating their study and drawing.

Study and drawing of archaeological materials

After completing the previous phases, we moved on to the study of the materials. It will be here that the pieces of greatest interest will be selected for photography, drawing and sometimes 3D digitization.

This point will complement the documentation generated in the field, since it will be here that we will collect the archaeological record of each stratum and we will be able to refine the chronologies thanks to the materials.

Finally, we will package the materials Following the guidelines set by the museum of reference. As a general rule, we will avoid overloading the boxes, as well as separating the most delicate and “museable” materials, and we will include a note in each box indicating the contents.